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anyone using premium gas ?

1M views 2K replies 423 participants last post by  paulrondelli 
#1 ·
yes or not worth it
 
#39 ·
I guess most people are not aware that all gas (in the area you live) is created equal. This is because for each area of the country their is only one refinery making the gas. This is especially true during the Summer, due to the EPA requiring at least 18 different formulations for at least 18 different parts of the country. Twice a year all refineries shut down for about 2 weeks so they can reformulate per EPA rules.

Here in Florida almost all of our gas comes from one refinery in the Gulf coast. Now the only difference between brands is that when the gas is moved from the refinery to storage tanks Shell, Mobil or whatever brand can then add additional additives if they want to. Otherwise all the gas (regular, Plus and Premium) has the same cleaning additives that the EPA requires. Also the Refinery only makes Regular and Premium. Plus is made by just blending Regular with Premium either at the retailers storage tanks or at the gas station.
 
#40 ·
We have 22 refineries here in California. I ran one tank of premium through, and, although I thought is smoothed out my tranny's slight start-from-stop shudder, I didn't notice a difference in anything else - but I don't flog it anyway. I'm back to regular and I don't even notice any difference in the shifting.[sleep]
 
#45 ·
93 Octane - probably a waste.

But I already argued about this in another thread for days. The Focus will most likely benefit from higher octane in hot climates. The Cruze was tested in Death Valley and they found that it did better with 91 octane and was worth the extra $0.12 per gallon. (I understand the Cruze is not the Focus, but I'm sure they work the same.)

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtes...ot-weather-mpg-test---regular-vs-premium.html
 
#49 ·
Well, after all that, I guess we should just run 89 octane and call it good lol! I will just try to avoid non "top tier" stations. And yes all gasoline comes from the same distribution pipes that supply the country, but each retailer decides what kind of additives to put in, as well as how often/well they maintain their tanks...I have seen a weird auxillary power type trailer plugged into the tanks (ventilation hose and electrical cables going into the ground where the tank fill points are) at the local Speedway numerous times, and their pumps are always in poor condition or broken! If they can maintain the pumps and the power supply units, what does the inside of those storage tanks look like??
 
#50 ·
This topic never dies whether it is in a car or motorcycle, there are those that believe higher octane means more power. I won't repeat the facts already stated by others except that an engine will best served for life and economy by using the octane it was designed to use.

The easiest way to improve fuel mileage when choosing a fuel is to buy ethanol free gas. Ethanol has less energy content than gasoline, burning 100% gasoline will improve mileage over a 10% percent ethanol blend by about 3.3%. Most people won't see this difference because driving habits can wash these small percentages.

If you are averaging mid 30's per gallon it works out to about 12 to 15 extra miles per tank or an additional 1 mpg. Not much but a real gain.
 
#53 ·
Actually on pg 354 it talks about some parts of the country regular gas is 85 octane and that the car will run better on premium than 85.

It does not say it will run better with premium than the 87 octane available to most of us.

This is the third time in this thread i have mentioned this.
 
#54 ·
And you are correct, but many don't want to be bothered by facts. The fact is, if your car knocks moderately or heavily under load, including when starting from a stop, then it may be due to fuel with a low octane rating. In this case, change stations and run 87 octane, or switch to mid-grade or premium fuel with an indicated octane rating above 87.[read]
 
#55 ·
Here in Australia the Focus uses the same 2 Liter GDI engine. However, all performance figures supplied by Ford here for the Focus, are explicitly stated as being in relation to Premium gas (the USA equivalent of 91 Octane).

In other words, the recommended fuel for the Focus is 91-98 RON (87-94 in USA) and I've read elsewhere that while it will run on regular, Premium is preferred.

The engine is rated in the USA at 120 kW (160 HP) and that's on regular. Here, the engine is rated at 125 kW (167 HP), but that's on Premium. No figures are available here for Regular.

It could be that the car is tuned differently here - I wouldn't know. However, the implication is that Premium gives an extra 7 HP.
 
#60 ·
The manual is clear. Premium improves performance. Manual notwithstanding, it stands to reason that higher octane is beneficial for a car with 12 to 1 compression. There are two questions the manual and common automotive sense don't answer. First, does premium solve any of the complaints like shuddering? Some on this forum have reported that it does. I use premium and have had no shuddering or other issues. Second, is the added cost worth it? I doubt premium's added cost is worth the performance gains or MPG gain (if any -- regular may give better MPG).

So as I see it, premium is worth a try if you've had shuddering or other performance issues, or if you're a leadfoot who wants to see whether there is a power improvement.

Once I have about 4k miles, I intend to switch off premium to see how regular compares in the fuel economy department as that is my principal concern.
 
#68 ·
Premium did nothing for my shift into 4th gear shudder. No other gears exhibit this on my DCT, with Oct. flash.

87 works fine for me. Parsing and linguistic analysis does nothing to improve my gas mileage. Keeping my foot out of it does. Try it.
 
#71 ·
Here in missouri, most gas stations provide 87,89, and 91. 91 being premium and 87 being regular.

I've taken a few trips around the state, and used some of the different gasoline for my car. I've noticed that in the more metropolitan areas, the 87 is fine and will yield close to 400miles a tank with 60/40 hwy/city driving. In the more rural areas, i found the the 87 to be trash, remembering a trip from southern Missouri up to Columbia to give me only 330miles on the tank, even though it was 70/30 hwy/city. (granted, my comparisons are using most likely some summer and winter blends)

Then however, i came across a gem of a gas station. A shell ~6 miles away from me sells 91 no eth (premium no eth), and if I don't get 400miles out of a tank, or at least close to it, i know i'm doing something wrong, and that's not exclusive to 60/40 hwy/cty, it ranges 40-60/60-40.

What i'm trying to say is, if you have access to no ethanol gasoline (most of the times it will be sold as premium), go for it.
 
#75 ·
So, just for ha-ha's, I tried a tank of 93 octane in my SE 5-speed. I must admit there is a difference in the performance of the car, mostly in the ability to keep it in higher gears at lower speeds (which I assume is the knock sensor not triggering). I would surmise that this would result in slightly better gas mileage if driven accordingly. Having said that, probably not worth a $.30 or $.35 differential.
 
#76 ·
Noticed pretty much the same thing. Decided to try it after putting some really bad regular in my car (station usually carries good gas, but apparently not this time).

It's for sure not going to be worth the extra money for the better gas mileage (I have been harder on it than usual and it's gotten the same 30-31 mpg mixed) but I'll throw it in the tank every once in a while. Especially if I get anymore bad gas.
 
#77 ·
I use premium and have been since my first fill up with my car. Premium where I get gas is ALWAYS exactly 10cents over regular grade. and mid grade is 1 cent more than regular. I don't know what a difference regular would make in my car since I haven't put any in so can't comment on any differences.
 
#79 ·
20 cents for premium is well worth it to me

I just switched to premium and the difference is noticeable.

The low speed stumble/bog is reduced, full throttle acceleration doesn't surge nearly as much, and on the freeway, part throttle response is improved, and the PowerShift doesn't hunt gears as often.

Keep in mind though, here in California our regular is 87, and premium only 91 (AKI), so our premium is more like mid grade elsewhere.


Another point...

I haven't driven enough since switching, but I wouldn't be surprised if my MPG is improved.

Now that gas is $4.27 for regular here, the additional .20 is a smaller percentage of the total, and takes less additional MPG to cover the cost of premium.
 
#81 ·
I just switched to premium and the difference is noticeable.

The low speed stumble/bog is reduced, full throttle acceleration doesn't surge nearly as much, and on the freeway, part throttle response is improved, and the PowerShift doesn't hunt gears as often.

Keep in mind though, here in California our regular is 87, and premium only 91 (AKI), so our premium is more like mid grade elsewhere.


Another point...

I haven't driven enough since switching, but I wouldn't be surprised if my MPG is improved.

Now that gas is $4.27 for regular here, the additional .20 is a smaller percentage of the total, and takes less additional MPG to cover the cost of premium.
Although I generally haven't believed in the "premium gets higher MPG" idea, I must admit that the last two tankfuls of premium have yielded about 5% higher MPG's. I was thinking we might have gone back to summer blend gas, but maybe not.
 
#83 ·
It will not damage the engine. We're still fighting over the mileage 1/2 of the debate.
 
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